Support

A cookie is a piece of data stored by your browser or device that helps websites like this one recognize return visitors. We use cookies to give you the best experience on BNA.com. Some cookies are also necessary for the technical operation of our website. If you continue browsing, you agree to this site’s use of cookies.

Events

Bloomberg Next marketing services allow clients to elevate their brands and extend their reach through our established and trusted expertise, enhanced with engaging event production, appealing design, and compelling messaging.

President-elect Donald Trump pledged during his campaign to make clean water a priority,
to develop a long-term water infrastructure plan with city, state and federal leaders
to upgrade aging water systems, and to “triple funding for state revolving loan fund
programs to help states and local governments upgrade critical drinking water and
wastewater infrastructure.”

But national drinking water and wastewater groups are hesitant to wager whether these
promises made on the campaign trail will actually materialize as congressional appropriations.

“It is very questionable whether Congress would go along with tripling SRF (state
revolving fund) funding, as it would mean adding roughly $4 billion to EPA’s budget,”
said Dan Hartnett, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies director of legislative
affairs.

“Though the SRFs are very popular on Capitol Hill, in recent years there has also
been a strong aversion among Republicans to giving EPA any additional funding.”

The state revolving fund programs for drinking water and clean water provide a combination
of low-interest loans and grants to municipalities to upgrade, replace or rehabilitate
infrastructure projects to provide clean and safe water.

Congress has the final say in how much these funding these programs will receive in
the Environmental Protection Agency budget.

G. Tracy Mehan, executive director of government affairs at American Water Works Association,
questioned congressional support for the funding.

“Unclear as to Congress given fiscal situation and push for increased defense spending
and tax cuts even with a positive or dynamic budget scoring,” said Mehan, who was
the assistant administrator for water at the EPA during President George W. Bush.

That said, “a tripling of the SRF would go a long way towards helping clean water
utilities meet their infrastructure investment needs,” Nathan Gardner-Andrews, National
Association of Clean Water Agencies chief advocacy officer, said in a Dec. 15 e-mail,
adding “It wouldn’t totally solve the needs gap, but would help to narrow it.”

The EPA has identified water infrastructure investment needs totaling $655 billion
nationwide that are eligible for funding through the clean water and drinking water
state revolving fund programs over the next five to 10 years.

Gardner-Andrews said NACWA is “strongly supportive” of tripling funding of SRFs. Pointing
to a Dec. 12
letter the association sent to Trump, Gardner-Andrews said NACWA was “ready to work” with
the new administration to help make it happen.

AMWA represents large publicly owned drinking water utilities, while NACWA represents
publicly owned wastewater utilities that include some that manage stormwater. AWWA
is a professional society that conducts research on drinking water treatment and policy.

‘A Golden Opportunity’

Some observers even see Trump’s pledge to refocus government spending on infrastructure,
which he envisions as “a golden opportunity” to accelerate economic growth, as no
different than the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L.No. 111-5), the stimulus package that the 111th Congress enacted with bipartisan support and
President Barack Obama signed into law in February 2009.

The ARRA provided $2 billion for the drinking water state revolving fund and $4 billion
for the clean water state revolving fund, which Hartnett said is in the ballpark of
where funding for the two state revolving funds would end up if Congress tripled their
final fiscal year 2016 levels.

“But at this point it is not clear what baseline SRF amounts the president elect is
proposing to triple, that is, is it the final FY16 appropriations, or fiscal year
2017 proposals? We’re still awaiting those details from the incoming administration,”
Hartnett said.

For fiscal 2016, the drinking water state revolving fund received $863 million from
Congress, while its clean water counterpart received $1.393 billion. Tripling these
amounts would equate to $2.58 billion for the drinking water and about $4.17 billion
for the clean water state revolving programs, respectively.

Under the current fiscal year, both revolving fund programs are being funded at the
fiscal 2016 levels until April 28 under an interim spending measure.

Both the House and Senate will not only have to revisit fiscal 2017 spending but also
decide how to appropriate funds for the upcoming fiscal 2018.

It’s unclear at this point whether Trump’s water infrastructure proposal, if and when
formally requested, would be entertained in the leftover fiscal 2017 spending measure
or in the fiscal 2018 spending measure.

The Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee did not respond to e-mail seeking
comment on its support for Trump’s proposal. The House Appropriations Committee, where
all federal appropriations discussions initiate, did not respond either.

‘Too Soon’

During the year’s final
news conference on Dec. 12, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) mentioned Trump’s infrastructure
funding proposal, saying he wants to avoid a stimulus package similar to the ARRA
package of 2009.

“We want to it see—I’m interested in seeing what is the administration going to recommend?
And I think the details are really important,” McConnell said.

“What I hope we will clearly avoid, and I’m confident we will, is a trillion dollar
stimulus. Take you back to 2009. We borrowed $1 trillion and nobody could find that
it did much of anything.”

On the House side, Justin Harclerode, spokesman for the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, which authorizes funds for EPA Clean Water Act programs, told Bloomberg
BNA that Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has had discussions with the transition
team about infrastructure funding.

But Harclerode said, “it’s too soon to have seen a fleshed out infrastructure proposal
from the incoming administration yet.”

At the same, Harclerode didn’t close the door on Shuster’s willingness to entertain
Trump’s proposal.

“The Chairman supports cost-effective and fiscally responsible investment in the nation’s
infrastructure—from water infrastructure to roads and bridges to the aviation network
and more—and he looks forward to working with the president-elect and his administration
to identify ways in which we can ensure America has a 21st-century infrastructure,”
Harclerode wrote in a Dec. 15 e-mail.

Democrats Supportive

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.)
and House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.)
have sought increased appropriations for the state revolving funds.

In March, Pallone and DeFazio along with 94 other House Democrats urged the Appropriations
Committee to provide a minimum of $2 billion each for both programs in fiscal year
2017 spending measure.

A Democratic aide told Bloomberg BNA the House Democrats will continue to support
increases, irrespective of the change in administration.

To contact the reporter on this story: Amena H. Saiyid in Washington at
asaiyid@bna.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Larry Pearl at
lpearl@bna.com

All Bloomberg BNA treatises are available on standing order, which ensures you will always receive the most current edition of the book or supplement of the title you have ordered from Bloomberg BNA’s book division. As soon as a new supplement or edition is published (usually annually) for a title you’ve previously purchased and requested to be placed on standing order, we’ll ship it to you to review for 30 days without any obligation. During this period, you can either (a) honor the invoice and receive a 5% discount (in addition to any other discounts you may qualify for) off the then-current price of the update, plus shipping and handling or (b) return the book(s), in which case, your invoice will be cancelled upon receipt of the book(s). Call us for a prepaid UPS label for your return. It’s as simple and easy as that. Most importantly, standing orders mean you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you’re relying on. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.960.1220 or by sending an email to books@bna.com.

Put me on standing order at a 5% discount off list price of all future updates, in addition to any other discounts I may quality for. (Returnable within 30 days.)

Notify me when updates are available (No standing order will be created).

This Bloomberg BNA report is available on standing order, which ensures you will all receive the latest edition. This report is updated annually and we will send you the latest edition once it has been published. By signing up for standing order you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you need. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.372.1033, option 5, or by sending us an email to research@bna.com.

Put me on standing order

Notify me when new releases are available (no standing order will be created)